Packaging arrangement and packaging method

ABSTRACT

This present invention discloses a packaging arrangement including: a sheet bundle stacked body formed by stacking, in the thickness direction, one or multiple sheet bundle(s) in which sheet-like materials are stacked in the thickness direction and bound with a sheet binding part; a mounting base on which the sheet bundle stacked body is to be mounted; an end plate located on an opposite side to the mounting base across the sheet bundle stacked body; and a restricting part for restricting the sheet bundle stacked body such that the sheet bundle stacked body is sandwiched by the mounting base and the end plate. This packaging arrangement can prevent any qualitative fault due to an impact during transportation, handling or loading to a setter of an automatic platemaker.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a packaging arrangement and a packaging method, and more particularly to a packaging arrangement and a packaging method which generates no qualitative fault caused by vibration or impact during transportation and loading.

BACKGROUND ART

When loading planographic printing plates, it is intended that the frequency of loading is reduced to lower costs of transportation and storage, and the planographic printing plates are prevented from being deformed or damaged during transportation or storage. In order thereto, a method has been generally used in which a number of planographic printing plates are stacked in the thickness direction to constitute a bundle of the planographic printing plates, and the bundle of the planographic printing plates is packed with light shielding packaging material such as aluminum craft paper as required and mounted on a mounting member such as a pallet or a skid.

As a packaging structure using a stacking member, an arrangement is generally used in which the bundle of the planographic printing plates is placed on a chair-shaped mounting member having a bottom plate and a back plate erected substantially at right angle with respect to the bottom plate. In this arrangement, an end plate is placed on the front face of the bundle of the planographic printing plates, or corner protection plates are attached to both side edges of the front face of the bundle of the planographic printing plates, and then, the bundle of the planographic printing plate is fixed with a belt (see Japanese Patent No. 2873463, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 6-206612 and JP-A No. 2001-139055).

The clamping force of the belt is preferred to be strong because if the clamping force of the belt is weak in the packaging structure of the above arrangement, the planographic printing plates slide during transportation and consequently, their photosensitive faces or thermosensitive faces are damaged.

However, increasing the number of the belts in order to increase the clamping force only leads to an increase in packaging costs and complicates the packaging process.

Further, a laser exposure type planographic printing plate widely used in recent years is susceptible to damage on its plate making surface by vibration or impact during transportation or loading because its plate making surface is weaker than the conventional planographic printing plates. Further, when loaded into a setter at a printing place, the planographic printing plates are necessary to be handled carefully so that the plate making surfaces are not damaged by rubbing.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and provide a packaging arrangement and a packaging method capable of increasing clamping force without increasing the number of belts and effectively preventing any qualitative fault caused by an impact during transportation or handling upon plate making of a laser exposure type planographic printing plate.

In a first feature of the invention, a packaging arrangement includes a sheet bundle in which sheet-like materials are stacked in a thickness direction thereof and bound with a sheet binding part, wherein the sheet bundle is stacked in a thickness direction thereof, mounted on a mounting base and clamped with a clamping part.

According to this feature, the sheet-like materials are packaged by the unit of sheet bundle, and therefore, the sheet-like materials can be protected from vibration or impact during transportation and loading. Further, the packaging work and unpacking work can be made effective.

Conventionally, when loading a planographic printing plate into a setter of an automatic platemaker, only necessary number of planographic printing plates, which should be loaded, are taken out from a packaging structure body of the planographic printing plates and manually carried to the setter. On the other hand, according to the packaging arrangement of the invention, the planographic printing plates can be taken out by the unit of each bundle only by releasing the clamping part. As a consequence, by carrying the planographic printing plates in a condition of its bundle to the setter and releasing the binding of the binding part on the setter, a probability of causing a qualitative fault can be largely reduced.

Further, because a sheet bundle group in which the sheet bundles are stacked in the thickness direction is mounted on the mounting base and bound thereto, it is easy to load or carry.

In a second feature of the invention, the sheet bundle on the basis of the first feature is mounted on the mounting base in a substantially vertical direction.

According to this feature, because the sheet bundle is mounted on the mounting base in the vertical direction, the sheet bundle can be taken out quite easily. Further, space can be largely saved.

In a third feature of the invention, protective thick papers, which are paperboards, for protecting the sheet-like materials are overlaid on both faces in the thickness direction of the sheet bundle on the basis of the first and second features.

According to this feature, because the rigidity of the sheet bundle is increased by the protective thick papers overlaid on both faces in the thickness direction, the sheet-like materials are further effectively protected from impact or external force during transportation or loading.

As the protective thick paper, for example, it is possible to use a paper board having a basis weight of 200-1500 g/m², density of 0.7-0.85 g/cm³, water content of 4-8%, Beck's smoothness of 3-20 seconds, and pH of 4-6, made of old papers.

In a fourth feature of the invention, the sheet bundle on the basis of any of the first to third features is bound at its sides with adhesive tape.

According to this feature, because the sheet-like materials are stacked in the thickness direction and sandwiched by the protective papers from both sides in the thickness direction as required while the four corners are fixed with adhesive tape to construct the sheet bundle, no special equipment for constructing the sheet bundle is necessary.

In a fifth feature of the invention, the sheet bundle on the basis of any of the first to fourth features is bound on two pairs of opposing faces with a binding member.

In a sixth feature of the invention, the sheet bundle on the basis of any of the first to fourth features is bound on all six faces thereof with a binding member.

It is preferable that the sheet bundle can be bound securely if its six faces, namely, three pairs of opposing faces are bound with a packaging member such as tape or elastic film. However, labor and time for binding can be saved by binding four faces, namely, two pairs of opposing faces.

In a seventh feature of the invention, the sheet bundle on the basis of any of the first to sixth features includes the sheet-like materials stacked with inserting papers therebetween.

In an eighth feature of the invention, the sheet bundle on the basis of any of the first to sixth features includes the sheet-like materials stacked without any inserting papers.

According to the packaging arrangement of the invention, the sheets are bound by the unit of the sheet bundle. Thus, even if the inserting paper is omitted for a laser exposure type planographic printing plate, which may be easily damaged, its plate making face is not damaged by vibration or impact during transportation or handling. Therefore, the inserting paper may be present or absent.

In a ninth feature of the invention, the sheet bundle on the basis of any of the first to eighth features is packaged with light shielding, moisture proof inner-wrapping paper.

According to this feature, since the sheet bundle is packaged with light shielding, moisture proof inner-wrapping paper, the sheet bundle is protected from external light and moisture. Therefore, this packaging arrangement is preferably applicable for a sheet-like material having a moisture absorbing layer such as a laser sensitive type planographic printing plate and a sheet-like material having a photo-sensitive layer such as a photopolymerizing planographic printing plate and a photosensitive planographic printing plate.

In a tenth feature of the invention, a packaging arrangement includes: a sheet bundle stacked body formed by stacking, in a thickness direction thereof, one or multiple sheet bundle(s) in which sheet-like materials are stacked in a thickness direction thereof and bound with a sheet binding part; a mounting base on which the sheet bundle stacked body is to be mounted; an end plate located on an opposite side of the sheet bundle stacked body from the mounting base; and a restricting part for restricting the sheet bundle stacked body such that the sheet bundle stacked body is sandwiched by the mounting base and the end plate.

Similarly to the packaging arrangement of the first feature, according to the packaging arrangement of this feature, because the sheet-like materials are packaged by the unit of the sheet bundle, the sheet-like materials are effectively protected from vibration or impact during transportation or handling. Further, packing work or unpacking work can be achieved effectively.

According to the packaging arrangement of this feature, the sheet bundle stacked body is protected from external force securely by the mounting base and the end plate. In addition, this packaging arrangement allows handling and transportation to be carried out easily.

As the restricting part for use in the packaging arrangement of this feature, a bolt, a turnbuckle and an elastic film such as a thermoelastic film and a stretch film are available, other than the belt which will be described later.

In an eleventh feature of the invention, the clamping part on the basis of the first feature is a belt.

In a twelfth feature of the invention, the clamping part on the basis of any of the second to tenth features is a belt.

According to this feature, because the clamping part or restricting part is a belt, it is inexpensive and it is easy to tighten or slacken. Further, by tightening the belt, the sheet bundle stacked body can be fixed with uniform force.

In a thirteenth feature of the invention, the mounting base on the basis of the twelfth feature is provided with a belt receiver through which the belt is to be inserted and the belt is wound around from the end plate to the mounting base, passed through the belt receiver and wound around to the end plate.

According to this feature, after the belt is wound around from the end plate to the mounting base, the belt is passed through the belt receiver, folded back and wound around to the end plate.

Therefore, the clamping force can be increased without increasing the number of the belts.

In a fourteenth feature of the invention, at least one convex portion for catching the belt is provided at the end plate on a face opposite to a face in contact with the sheet bundle stacked body, on the basis of any of the twelfth and thirteenth features.

By applying the belt on the convex portion provided on an opposite side to the face in contact with the sheet bundle stacked body of the end plate, and tightly binding the belt, a sufficient clamping force from the belt can be exerted not only to both side edges of the end plate but also to the central portion. Thus, the sheet bundle stacked body is restricted between the mounting base and the end plate with uniform restricting force.

In a fifteenth feature of the invention, the convex portion on the basis of any of the twelfth and thirteenth feature has a belt holding part for holding the belt such that the belt does not slide in a width direction thereof.

According to this packaging arrangement, because the belt is held by the belt holding part at the convex portion so as not to slide in the width direction, the belt is prevented from loosing out of the convex portion by vibration or impact given during handling or transportation.

In a sixteenth feature of the invention, the convex portion on the basis of any of the thirteenth to fifteenth features is detachable.

According to this packaging arrangement, because the convex portion can be removed when the end plate is not used, it is convenient for storage of the end plate.

In a seventeenth feature of the invention, the convex portion on the basis of any of the thirteenth to sixteenth features is structured by a combination of multiple blocks.

According to this packaging arrangement, because the convex portion is structured by a combination of plural blocks, the convex portion can be easily constructed even if the size of the convex portion is large.

In an eighteenth feature of the invention, a foamed member is inserted between the sheet bundle and the clamping part or between the end plate and the restricting part on the basis of any of the first to seventeenth features.

If the sheet bundles are stacked and mounted on the mounting base and wrapped with elastic film, for example, both side edges of the uppermost layer sheet bundle may be deformed.

However, according to this feature, because contraction force from the elastic sheet is exerted to the entire face of the sheet bundle group equally through the foamed member, deformation of the sheet bundle can be effectively prevented.

Further, by placing the foamed member on an opposite side of the face in contact with the sheet bundle stacked body of the end plate and clamping with the restricting part, an impact which may be applied to the end plate or the sheet bundle stacked body during loading or transportation can be effectively relaxed.

Preferably, the foamed member has a width substantially equivalent to the width of the sheet bundle group and has a shape in which its central portion is thick while its thickness decreases gradually toward both ends thereof.

In a nineteenth feature of the invention, an air bag is inserted between the sheet bundle and the clamping part or between the end plate and the restricting part on the basis of any of the first to seventeenth features.

In the packaging arrangement in which the sheet bundles are stacked and mounted on the mounting base and wound with the elastic film, if an air bag is placed on the uppermost sheet bundle and wound with the elastic film, the contraction force of the elastic film is exerted to the entire surface of the sheet bundle equally, thereby effectively preventing the side edges of the sheet bundle from being deformed.

Alternatively, by placing the air bag on an opposite side of the face in contact with the sheet bundle stacked body of the end plate and clamping with the restricting part, vibration and impact which may be applied during handling or transportation can be effectively relaxed.

In a twentieth feature of the invention, the packaging arrangement on the basis of any of the first to nineteenth features further includes a covering sheet that is an airtight cover for covering the sheet bundle stacked body and the end plate, or the sheet bundle in an airtight condition, wherein a space between the covering sheet and the mounting base is maintained at a lower pressure than the atmospheric pressure.

Air stagnated between the mounting face of the mounting base and the sheet bundle is discharged by depressurizing space between the mounting base and the wrapping cover, the sheet bundle is fixed effectively to the mounting face with the atmospheric pressure applied to the wrapping cover. Further, no local pressure is applied to the sheet bundle or the sheet-like material.

According to this feature, by using the mounting base in which the mounting face is provided with air vent passages, air stagnated between the wrapping cover and the sheet bundle or sheet bundle stacked body can be discharged effectively through the air vent passage.

In a twenty-first feature of the invention, the sheet bundle stacked body on the basis of any of the first to twentieth features is covered with light shielding, moisture proof outer-wrapping material.

According to the above packaging arrangement, even if the sheet-like material is weak to light or moisture such as a photosensitive type or a laser exposure type planographic printing plate, the sheet-like material is protected effectively from external light or moisture in the air.

In a twenty-second feature of the invention, a packaging arrangement includes: sheet-like materials stacked in a thickness direction thereof; a mounting base on which the sheet-like materials are to be mounted; an end plate located to an opposite side of the sheet-like materials from the mounting base; and a belt for tightly binding the end plate and the sheet-like materials to the mounting base, wherein the mounting base is provided with a belt receiver through which the belt is to be inserted and the belt is wound around from the end plate to the mounting base, passed through the belt receiver and wound around to the end plate.

As described in the thirteenth feature, also according to this feature, after the belt is wound around from the end plate to the mounting base, the belt is passed through the belt receiver and folded back and wound around to the end plate.

Thus, the binding force can be increased without increasing the number of the belts.

In a twenty-third feature of the invention, the sheet-like materials on the basis of the twenty-second feature are covered with light shielding, moisture proof outer-wrapping material.

As described in the twenty-first feature, according to this feature, even if the sheet-like material is vulnerable to light or moisture such as a photosensitive type or a laser exposure type planographic printing plate, the sheet-like material is protected effectively from external light or moisture in the air.

In a twenty-fourth feature of the invention, the sheet bundle stacked body is mounted on the mounting base through a shock absorbing material.

According to this feature, because impact during transportation or loading is absorbed by a shock absorbing material provided on the mounting face of the mounting base, the sheet-like material such as the planographic printing plate can be protected effectively from damage by impact.

In a twenty-fifth feature of the invention, the sheet-like materials on the basis of any of the first to twenty-fourth features are planographic printing plates.

In a twenty-sixth feature of the invention, a packaging method includes binding sheet-like materials in units of sheet bundles in which the sheet-like materials are stacked in a thickness direction thereof.

The packaging method of this feature has the same feature and effect as the packaging arrangement on the basis of the first feature.

In a twenty-seventh feature of the invention, the sheet-like material on the basis of the twenty-sixth feature is a planographic printing plates.

In a twenty-eighth feature of the invention, the convex portion on the basis of the fourteenth feature is provided in the vicinity of a lower side of the end plate.

According to the packaging arrangement on the basis of the tenth feature, generally, the sheet bundle stacked body is mounted in a substantially vertical direction on the mounting base. Therefore, the bottom end portion of the sheet bundle stacked body may sometimes slide largely or the sheet bundle stacked body may largely bound due to vibration applied to the mounting base during loading or transportation.

However, according to the above-described packaging arrangement, because the convex portion for catching the belt is provided in the vicinity of the bottom side of the end plate, the sheet bundle stacked body is restricted between the mounting base and the end plate at its bottom end portion with especially strong tightening force. Therefore, sliding or bounding of the sheet bundle stacked body due to vibration from the mounting base is prevented particularly effectively.

As described above, the invention provides a packaging arrangement and packaging method capable of preventing a qualitative fault caused by vibration or impact upon transportation or handling or loading to a setter of an automatic platemaker even if applied to a laser exposure type planographic printing plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a packaging structure body according to the embodiment 1;

FIGS. 2A to 2D are an explanatory diagram showing steps for producing the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are an explanatory diagram showing steps for producing the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing steps for producing the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of a packaging structure body according to the embodiment 2;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are an explanatory diagram showing steps for producing the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 2;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are an explanatory diagram showing steps for producing the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 2;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are an explanatory diagram showing steps for producing the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 2;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing steps for producing the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 2;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the structure of a packaging structure body according to the embodiment 3;

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the structure of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 3;

FIG. 12 is a lateral sectional view showing the structure of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 3;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the structure of a packaging structure body according to the embodiment 4;

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the structure of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 4;

FIG. 15 is a lateral sectional view showing the structure of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 4;

FIG. 16 is a lateral sectional view showing the structure of another example of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 4;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the structure of a packaging structure body according to the embodiment 5;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing the structure of a mounting base for use in the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 5;

FIGS. 19A and 19B are an explanatory diagram showing means for fixing the wrapping cover on the mounting base in the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 5;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing the structure of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 6;

FIGS. 21A and 21B are a schematic view showing an example of a block material for use in the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 6;

FIGS. 22A and 22B are a schematic view showing an example of a block material for use in the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 6;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing an example in which a block material is inserted between upper/lower fabric belts and the end plate in the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 6;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing another example in which a block material is inserted between upper/lower fabric belts and the end plate in the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 6;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing an example in which the block material is provided with flange portions for preventing the fabric belt from dropping in the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 6;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing the structure of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 7;

FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the structure of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 8;

FIG. 28 is a perspective view showing the structure of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 9;

FIG. 29 is a perspective view showing the structure of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 10;

FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing another example of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 10;

FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing still another example of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 10;

FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing the structure of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 11;

FIG. 33 is a perspective view showing the structure of the packaging structure body according to the embodiment 12;

FIG. 34 is a perspective view showing an example of a belt receiver in a packaging arrangement of the embodiment 10;

FIG. 35 is a perspective view showing another example of a belt receiver in the packaging arrangement of the embodiment 10;

FIG. 36 is a perspective view showing an example of a belt receiver in the packaging arrangements of the embodiment 11 and 12; and

FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing another example of the belt receiver in the packaging arrangement of the embodiment 12.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The disclosures of Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2005-84701, 2005-249576 and 2006-38256 are incorporated by reference herein.

1. Embodiment 1

A packaging structure body of a planographic printing plate as an example of a packaging arrangement of the present invention will be described below.

In a packaging structure body 100 according to an embodiment 1, a planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is mounted on a mounting base 2 as shown in FIG. 1. The planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is formed by stacking, in the thickness direction, a predetermined number of planographic printing plate bundles 11 corresponding to a sheet bundle of the invention, for example, five bundles. The planographic printing plate bundle group 10 corresponds to a sheet bundle stacked body of the invention. The end plate 4 is stacked on the planographic printing plate bundle group 10. The planographic printing plate bundle group 10 and the end plate 4 are fixed by a fabric belt 6 to a back plate 22A, described later, of the mounting base 2. The end plate 4 and the fabric belt 6 correspond to a clamping part (clamping means) of the invention and the fabric belt 6 also corresponds to a restricting part (restricting means) of the invention. In the meantime, the number of bundles of the planographic printing plate bundles 11 is not restricted to five bundles but may be 20-50 bundles. This is the same for the following embodiments.

The mounting base 2 is constructed entirely in the form of a chair as shown in FIG. 1 and includes a mounting portion 22 on which the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is mounted and a base portion 24 for supporting the mounting portion 22 from below.

The mounting portion 22 is formed as a whole into a substantially L-shape and includes the back plate 22A which is inclined with respect to the base portion 24 and a mounting plate 22B which corresponds to the seating face of a chair. The back plate 22A is fixed to the base portion 24 such that it is tilted with respect to the vertical direction. The tilting angle of the back plate 22A to the vertical direction is 5-30°, preferably 7-20°, and further preferably 9-15°. The mounting plate 22B is tilted downward to the back plate 22A. At the back plate 22A and the mounting plate 22B, faces thereof on the side in which the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 makes contact therewith are called a mounting face 20.

The base portion 24 includes a substantially rectangular top plate 26 on which the mounting plate 22B of the mounting portion 22 is fixed, a substantially rectangular bottom plate 28 and block-like leg portions 27 for connecting the top plate 26 and the bottom plate 28. A space 29 is formed between the leg portions 27, and a fork of a forklift or a hand lift are inserted into this space 29.

The planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is packaged with light shielding, moisture proof inner-wrapping paper 3. As the inner-wrapping paper 3, black polyethylene film, craft paper laminated with aluminum foil or polyethylene film or the like is used. The inner-wrapping paper 3 is an example of the light-shielding moisture proof material of the invention.

The production steps of the packaging structure body 100 will be described below.

First, as shown in FIG. 2A, planographic printing plates W and inserting papers are stacked alternately by predetermined numbers, for example, 20-30 sheets each in the thickness direction. Then, protective thick papers 13 are overlaid on the both sides thereof. After the protective thick papers 13 are overlaid, four corners are fixed with adhesive tape 12, which corresponds to a binding part (binding means) of the invention, as shown in FIG. 2B to produce the planographic printing plate bundle 11.

In the example shown in FIG. 2B, the positions of each planographic printing plate bundle 11 to which the tape 12 is attached are the same. However, the thickness of the portion on which the tape 12 is attached to the planographic printing plate bundle 11 may be enlarged, thereby sometimes affecting the flatness of the planographic printing plate W.

In such a case, the positions of the two tapes 12 adjoining each other on the planographic printing plate bundle 11 may be shifted to each other. Therefore, the tape positions on each planographic printing plate bundle 11 may be the same as shown in FIG. 2C or the tape positions on all the planographic printing plate bundles 11 may be different as shown in FIG. 2D.

Further, the tape may be attached vertically to the planographic printing plate bundle 11 in place of being bonded in the right and left direction of the planographic printing plate bundle 11.

The planographic printing plate W is an example of the sheet-like material of the invention and may be of photosensitive type, thermosensitive type, or laser exposure type.

The planographic printing plate bundles 11 produced in this way are stacked by a predetermined quantity, for example, five bundles in the thickness direction and mounted on the mounting face 20 of the mounting base 2 as shown in FIG. 3A so as to form the planographic printing plate bundle group 10.

Next, the inner-wrapping paper 3 is wrapped on the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 as shown in FIG. 3B and the peripheral portions of the inner-wrapping paper 3 are fixed to the mounting face 20 of the mounting base 2 with adhesive tape 3A.

After the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is wrapped with the inner-wrapping paper 3, the end plate 4 is placed on the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 and fixed to the back plate 22A of the mounting base 2 with the fabric belt 6. Preferably, the end plate 4 has a slightly larger size than the planographic printing plates W constituting the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 from a viewpoint of preventing the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 from being damaged.

The planographic printing plate bundle group 10 may be bound only with the fabric belt 6 in place of the end plate 4 and the fabric belt 6 or may be bound by winding elastic film such as stretch film described later.

2. Embodiment 2

Another example of the packaging structure body for the planographic printing plates included by the packaging arrangement of the invention will be described below.

The packaging structure body 102 of an embodiment 2 has the same structure as the packaging structure body 100 of the embodiment 1 except that the planographic printing plate bundle 14 which constitutes the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is wrapped with the light shielding, moisture proof inner-wrapping paper 15. As the inner-wrapping paper 15, black polyethylene film, craft paper laminated with aluminum foil or polyethylene film, or the like is used. The inner-wrapping paper 15 corresponds to the inner-wrapping material of the invention.

The production steps of the packaging structure body 102 will be described below.

First, as shown in FIG. 6A, planographic printing plates W and inserting papers are stacked alternately by predetermined quantities, for example, 20-30 sheets each in the thickness direction. Then, protective thick papers 13 are overlaid on both sides. After the protective thick papers 13 are overlaid, four corners are fixed with adhesive tape 12 as shown in FIG. 6B to fix the planographic printing plates W to the protective thick papers 13.

Next, the planographic printing plates W and the protective thick papers 13 fixed to each other are wrapped with the inner-wrapping paper 15 as shown in FIG. 7A and bound with the tape 15A. Alternatively, the planographic printing plates W and the protective thick papers 13 are integrally wrapped with black shrink film 16 as shown in FIG. 8A to form the planographic printing plate bundle 14. The tape 12, the inner-wrapping paper 15, the tape 15A and the black shrink film 16 correspond to the sheet binding part (sheet binding means) of the invention.

The planographic printing plate bundles 14 formed in this way are stacked by a predetermined quantity, for example, five bundles in the thickness direction as shown in FIGS. 7B and 8B to form the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 and placed on the mounting face 20 of the mounting base 2.

Then, the end plate 4 is attached to the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 and fixed with the fabric belt 6 as shown in FIG. 9.

3. Embodiment 3

An example using no end plate of the packaging structure body for the planographic printing plates included in the packaging arrangement of the invention will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the packaging structure body 104 of the embodiment 3 includes the mounting base 2, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 mounted on the mounting base 2 in a substantially vertical direction and a foamed member 7 which covers the front face opposite to the side in contact with the mounting base 2 of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10. The planographic printing plate bundle group 10 corresponds to a sheet-like material bundle on the sheet-like packaging structure of the invention.

The planographic printing plate bundle group 10 and the foamed member 7 are bound to the back plate 22A described later of the mounting base 2 with stretch film 8.

The mounting base 2 has the same structure as the mounting base 2 of the packaging structure body 100 of the embodiment 1.

The planographic printing plate bundle group 10 includes the planographic printing plate bundles 11 stacked in the thickness direction. As the planographic printing plate bundle 11, the ones mentioned in the embodiments 1 and 2 can be applied.

The foamed member 7 is formed such that a face in contact with the front face 10A of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 as shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, namely, a bottom face 42 is flat while an opposite side to the bottom face 42 is of cylindrical face 44 projecting cylindrically so that the entire structure is formed in a semicylindrical shape.

Although the width of the bottom face 42 of the foamed member 7 is preferred to be equivalent to the width of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10, it may be in a range of 80-120% the width of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10.

As the foamed material for use in forming the foamed member 7, foamed polyethylene material, foamed styrol material, foamed urethane material are available. The expansion magnification of the foaming is preferred to be in a range of 5-30 times, and particularly preferred to be five times for the foamed polyethylene and about 30 times for the foamed styrol.

The stretch film 8 corresponds to the clamping part of the invention and is a film formed of stretchable material and if it is stretched in a range not exceeding its yield point, it is stretched or contracted by a contractile force over a specified value. As the stretch film 8, uniaxially or biaxially-oriented film formed of polyethylene resin, ethylene-propylene copolymer resin, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin or the like is used. Use of self-adhesive film such as LLDPE (linear low density polyethylene) as the stretch film 8 enables end portions to be fixed without using any fixing means such as adhesive tape, adhesive agent, clamps.

The width in the vertical direction of the stretch film 8 may be equivalent to or slightly larger than the size in the vertical direction of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 or may also be smaller than that. If the stretch film 8 having a smaller width than the size in the vertical direction of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is used, the back plate 22A of the mounting portion 22 and the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 are covered with the stretch film 8 by winding around the back plate 22A, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 and the foamed member 7 spirally by plural times.

The steps for constructing the packaging structure body 104 are as follows.

First, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is formed by stacking the planographic printing plate bundles 11 by a specified quantity of bundles, for example, four bundles in the thickness direction, this is mounted on the mounting base 2 and wrapped with the wrapping paper as required.

Next, the foamed member 7 is placed on the front face 10A of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10.

After the foamed member 7 is placed, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10, the foamed member 7 and the mounting base 2 are wrapped with the stretch film 8. The number of wrapping with the stretch film 8 may be one or two or more. As a consequence, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is bound to the mounting base 2 with the foamed member 7.

To bind the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 to the mounting base 2, it is permissible to use thermoelastic film in place of the stretch film 8. In this case, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is wrapped with the thermoelastic film together with the mounting base 2 and after ends of the thermoelastic film are fixed with an appropriate means such as tape, hot air is blown to the thermoelastic film to allow the film to contact by heat.

4. Embodiment 4

An example of using no end plate in the packaging structure body for the planographic printing plates included in the packaging arrangement of the invention will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 13-15, the packaging structure body 106 of the embodiment 4 includes the mounting base 2, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 mounted on the mounting base 2 in a substantially vertical direction, corner protection plates 32A, 32B for covering the front face opposite to the side in contact with the mounting base 2 of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10, and an air bag 30 placed overlapping the corner protection plates 32A, 32B. The corner protection plates 32A, 32B correspond to the corner protection member of the invention.

The planographic printing plate bundle group 10, the corner protection plates 32A, 32B and the air bag 30 are bound to the back plate 22A described later of the mounting base 2 by the stretch film 8.

The mounting base 2 is the same as described in the embodiment 1.

The planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is a group obtained by stacking the planographic printing plate bundles 11 of the embodiment 1, 2 by a specified quantity of bundles, for example, four bundles in the thickness direction and the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 may be packed with the same inner-wrapping paper 3 as the inner-wrapping paper 3 of the embodiment 1 so as to protect the planographic printing plates from changes in light, temperature and humidity from outside.

As the air bag 30, the surface of a bag-shaped body formed of lamination film produced by laminating low gas permeability resin such as polyolefin resin film, for example, low density polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene polypropylene resin, ethylene-polyvinyl alcohol copolymer, vinylidene chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, or various polyamide resins, covered with craft paper to protect from an external impact can be used.

The corner protection plates 32A, 32B are structured by the front face 10A of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10, namely, front face covering portion 34 which is a face of the planographic printing plate constituting the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 while in contact with a face opposite to the side in contact with the mounting face 20 and side face covering portion 36 which covers part of the side face 10B which is continuous to the front face 10A but not adjacent thereto. The front face covering portion 34 and the side face covering portion 36 are formed by bending a single piece of corrugated board at right angle. In the meantime, the corner protection plate 32A is overlapped by the front face covering portion 34.

It is permissible to use the corner protection plate 32 in which the front face covering portion 34 and two side face covering portions 36 are formed integrally as shown in FIG. 16 in place of the corner protection plate 32A and the corner protection plate 32B.

The stretch film 8 is the same as described in the embodiment 3.

The width in the vertical direction of the stretch film 8 may be equivalent to or slightly larger than the size in the vertical direction of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 or may also be smaller than that. If the stretch film 8 having a smaller width than the size in the vertical direction of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is used, the back plate 22A of the mounting portion 22, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10, the corner protection plates 32A, 32B and the air bag 30 are wrapped with the stretch film 8 spirally by plural times so as to cover the back plate 22A and the planographic printing plate bundle group 10.

The steps for constructing the packaging structure body 106 are as follows.

First, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is mounted on the mounting base 2 and wrapped with the inner-wrapping paper as required.

Next, the corner protection plates 32A, 32B are placed on the front face 10A of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 such that they mutually overlap the front face covering portion 34. Although the corner protection plate 32 is placed over the corner protection plate 32A according to the embodiment 4, the corner protection plate 32A may be placed over the corner protection plate 32B.

After the corner protection plates 32A, 32B are placed, the air bag 30 in a state not filled with air is placed on the corner protection plate 32A and the front face covering portion 34.

After the air bag 30 is placed, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10, the corner protection plates 32A, 32B and the air bag 30 are wound with the stretch film 8. The frequency of winding with the stretch film 8 may be only once or two or more times. As a consequence, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is bound to the mounting base 2 together with the corner protection plates 32A, 32B and the air bag 30.

To bind the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 to the mounting base 2, it is permissible to use the thermoelastic film in place of the stretch film 8. In this case, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is wrapped with the thermoelastic film together with the mounting base 2 and an end of the thermoelastic film is fixed with an appropriate means such as tape and hot air is blown to the thermoelastic film to allow that film to contact by heat.

After the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is bound to the mounting base 2, the air bag 30 is expanded up to a predetermined pressure level by injecting air.

5. Embodiment 5

Another example of using no end plate in the packaging structure body for the planographic printing plate included in the packaging arrangement of the invention will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 17, the packaging structure body 108 of the embodiment 5 includes the mounting base 2, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 mounted on the mounting base 2 in a substantially vertical direction and wrapping cover 9. The planographic printing plate bundle group 10 corresponds to a sheet bundle of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 18, air vent grooves, which are an example of an air vent passage of the invention, are provided in a grid structure in the mounting face 20 of the mounting base 2. Although five columns of the air vent grooves 21 are provided vertically and laterally each in the back plate 22A while two columns vertically and five columns laterally are provided in the mounting plate 22B, the quantity of the columns of the air vent grooves 21 is not restricted to this value.

The sectional shape of the air vent groove 21 is not restricted to any particular one but may be in a variety of shapes including rectangular, semicircular, V-shaped and U-shaped.

The mounting plate 22B includes an air vent pipe 23 formed for deaerating a space between the wrapping cover 9 and the mounting base 2 when the wrapping cover 9 is mounted downwardly of the mounting face 20.

The mounting base 2 has the same configuration as described in the embodiment 1 except the above-described points.

The wrapping cover 9 is an airtight cover formed into a bag and corresponds to a clamping part of the invention. The wrapping cover 9 has light shielding property because a black material is used or colored in black and has stretching property. As the material of the wrapping cover 9, fabric provided with layers of various rubbers and polyurethane resin or soft resins such as soft vinyl chloride and low-density polyethylene are available. If soft resin is used as the wrapping cover 9, use of fabric laminated therewith is preferable from a viewpoint of physical strength.

The planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is the same as described in the embodiment 1, 2.

The steps for constructing the packaging structure body 108 are as follows.

First, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is mounted on the mounting base 2 and packed with inner-wrapping paper as required.

Next, the wrapping cover 9 is placed on the mounting portion 22 of the mounting base 2 and the peripheral portion of the wrapping cover 9, namely, an opening portion is fixed on the side face of the mounting plate 22B with tape 40. In the meantime, it is permissible to provide a groove 22D in the side face of the mounting plate 22B as shown in FIG. 19B and fix with a stopper 43 from above the groove 22D in place of fixing the peripheral portion of the wrapping cover 9.

After the peripheral portion of the wrapping cover 9 is fixed to the mounting plate 22B, air stagnated in space between the wrapping cover 9 and the mounting portion 22 is discharged through the air vent pipe 23 in order to deaerate that space.

In this configuration, the wrapping cover 9 adheres to the mounting portion 22 and the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 by the atmospheric pressure so that the atmospheric pressure is applied to the entire face of the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 through the wrapping cover 9.

Because the mounting face 20 is provided with the grid-like air vent grooves 21, if a gap between the wrapping cover 9 and the mounting portion 22 is deaerated, air stagnated between the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 and the mounting face 20 is discharged through the air vent grooves 21 from the air vent pipe 23. Therefore, no stagnation of air occurs between the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 and the mounting face 20.

6. Embodiment 6

According to the packaging structure body 110 of the embodiment 6, as shown in FIG. 20, of two fabric belts 6, upper and lower for binding the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 in the packaging structure body of the embodiment 1, a block material 50 is inserted between the lower fabric belt 6A and the packaging structure body. The block material 50 corresponds to a convex portion of the invention.

The block material 50 may be trapezoidal in its section as shown in FIG. 20 and if the block is fixed in the center of a portion over the fabric belt is to be placed of the end plate such that both end portions are formed lower while the central portion is higher, in other words, the central portion is projected with respect to the both end portions, that block is not restricted to the shape shown in FIG. 20. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 21A, for example, a shape as a result of overlaying sheet-like members may be adopted or a shape having a triangular section may be adopted. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 22B, a shape having a circular arc section may be adopted. Further, the black may be divided into two or more sections as shown in FIG. 22A. The block material 50 may be a rectangular solid block.

Although the block material 50 may be formed of wood, metal material, corrugated board or synthetic resin, it may also be formed of foamed resin, for example, foamed polyethylene such as foamed polyolefin, foamed polystyrene.

Although preferably, the block material 50 is inserted between the lower fabric belt 6A and the end plate 4 in order to prevent the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 from moving vertically or fluttering due to vibration applied to the mounting base 2, it is also permissible to insert a block material 52 into between the upper fabric belt 6B and the end plate 4 as shown in FIG. 23. The block material 52 has the same structure as the block material 50.

Further, the block material 54 may be inserted between the fabric belts 6A, 6B and the end plate 4 as shown in FIG. 24. The block material 54 has the same structure as the block materials 50, 52 except that it has a size enough for substantially covering the front face of the end plate 4, namely, the face opposite to the side in contact with the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 both in the width direction and height directions.

Additionally, it is permissible to provide along with both side edges of the block material 50 of a flange portion 50A so as to prevent the fabric belt 6A from sliding in the width direction as shown in FIG. 25.

In the packaging structure body 110, the block material 50, 52, or 54 is inserted into at least between the lower fabric belt 6A and the end plate 4. Further, these block materials 50, 52, 54 have a shape in which the central portion is projected with respect to the both end portions. Thus, the tightening force of the fabric belt 6 is applied to the both side edges and the central portion of the end plate 4 equally so that the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 is bound between the mounting base 2 and the end plate 4 at an equal binding force.

7. Embodiment 7

The packaging structure body 112 of the embodiment 7 has a configuration in which the block material 54 of the packaging structure body 110 shown in FIG. 24 is replaced with the air bag 30 as shown in FIG. 26.

The air bag 30 is the same as described in the embodiment 4.

The air bag 30 may be placed on the end plate 4 after filled with air at a predetermined pressure level and tightly bound with the fabric belt 6 or may be placed on the end plate 4 in an un-inflated condition and then filled with air up to the predetermined pressure level after bound softly with the fabric belt 6.

The packaging structure body 112 has a feature of being able to relax an impact applied to the end plate 4 by the shock absorbing property of the air bag 30 as well as the feature of the packaging structure body 110 of the embodiment 6 by using the air bag 30 in place of the block material 54. Additionally, because the internal pressure of the air bag 30 can be increased or decreased to adjust the binding force for binding the planographic printing plate bundles 30 between the end plate 4 and the mounting base 2, the binding force can be set to such an level sufficient enough for preventing the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 from moving vertically or fluttering during loading or transportation while the planographic printing plate bundles 11 is not damaged by adjusting the internal pressure of the air bag 30.

8. Embodiment 8

A packaging structure body of the embodiment 8 is an example of using both the block material 50 and the air bag 30 in the packaging structure body 110 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 20.

The packaging structure body 114 has a structure in which the block material 50 is inserted between the lower fabric band 6A and the end plate 4 while the air bag 30 is placed above the block material 50 on the end plate 4 and bound with two fabric bands 6C as shown in FIG. 27.

The packaging structure body 114 can protect the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 from an impact from the front particularly effectively because the impact applied to the end plate 4 from the front is absorbed by the air bag 30.

9. Embodiment 9

A packaging structure body 116 of the embodiment 9 is an example of using both the block material 50 and the foamed member 7 in the packaging structure body 110 shown in FIG. 20.

The packaging structure body 116 has such a structure in which the block material 50 is inserted between the lower fabric band 6A and the end plate 4 while the foamed member 7 is placed above the block material 50 on the end plate 4 and bound with two fabric bands 6C as shown in FIG. 28.

The foamed member 7 is the same as described in the embodiment 3.

10. Embodiment 10

A packaging structure body of the embodiment 10 has a structure in which the planographic printing plate bundle 11 which is planographic printing plate laminated body obtained by stacking the planographic printing plates in the thickness direction, wrapped with the inner-wrapping paper 3 is fixed on the mounting base 2 with adhesive tape 3A and the end plate 4 is placed thereon and fixed with the fabric belt 6 as shown in FIG. 29.

The mounting base 2 has the same structure as the mounting base 2 of the embodiment 1 except that two belt receivers 25 which allow the fabric belt 6 to pass through are provided on each side edge of the back plate 22A of the mounting portion 22. Hereinafter, of the belt receivers 25, the one located upside is called belt receiver 25A and the one located downside is called belt receiver 25B.

Although as the belt receiver 25, a grip-like member as shown in FIG. 34 can be exemplified, it may be a slit which is provided in parallel to the side edge of the back plate 22A as shown in FIG. 35.

Two fabric belts 6 are wound at up and down positions. Hereinafter, the upper fabric belt 6 is called “fabric belt 62” and the lower fabric belt 6 is called “fabric belt 64”.

The fabric belt 62 is wound around with a buckle 62A as a beginning point from the end plate 4 toward the left side edge of the back plate 22A in FIG. 29 and wound around the belt receiver 25A on the left side of FIG. 29 by a turn and then folded back to the front side. The fabric belt 62 folded back to the front side is passed below the buckle 62A on the end plate 4 and then wound around to the right side edge of the back plate 22A in FIG. 29. Then, it is wound around the belt receiver 25A on the right side in FIG. 29 by a turn and folded back to the front side and its front end is passed through the buckle 62A. The fabric belt 62 is tightened entirely by pulling the front end of the fabric belt 62 passing through the buckle 62A.

The fabric belt 64 is wound around with a buckle 64A as a beginning point from the end plate 4 toward the left side edge of the back plate 22A in FIG. 29 and wound around the belt receiver 25B on the left side of FIG. 29 by a turn and then folded back to the front side. The fabric belt 64 folded back to the front side is passed below the buckle 64A on the end plate 4 and then wound around to the right side edge of the back plate 22A in FIG. 29. Then, it is wound around the belt receiver 25B on the right side in FIG. 29 by a turn and folded back to the front side and its front end is passed through the buckle 64A. The fabric belt 64 is tightened entirely by pulling the front end of the fabric belt 64 passing through the buckle 64A.

The end plate 4 and planographic printing plate bundle 11 are tightly bound on the mounting base 2 by tightening the fabric belts 62, 64.

In the packaging arrangement 118, the end plate 4 and the planographic printing plate bundle 11 may be tightly bound on the mounting base 2 with a single fabric belt 4 as shown in FIGS. 30 and 31 in place of using the two fabric belts 6 as shown in FIG. 29.

In an example shown in FIG. 30, the fabric belt 6 is wound with the buckle 6A as a beginning point from the end plate 4 toward the left edge of the back plate 22A. The fabric belt is passed through the belt receiver 25A on the left side and folded back downward and passed through the belt receiver 25B located on the left side also. After passed through the belt receiver 25B on the left side, the fabric belt 6 is folded back to the front side and wound around the end plate 4. Then, the fabric belt is passed below the buckle 6A on the end plate 4 and wound around toward the belt receiver 25B on the right side. After passed through the belt receiver 25B on the right, the fabric belt 6 is folded back upward and passed through the belt receiver 25A on the right side. Then, the fabric belt is folded back to the front side from the belt receiver 25A on the right side and its front end portion thereof is passed through the buckle 6A on the end plate 4.

The fabric belt 6 is tightened by pulling the front end of the fabric belt 6, so that the end plate 4 and the planographic printing plate bundle 11 are tightly bound to the mounting base 2.

In an example shown in FIG. 31, after passed through the belt receiver 25A on the left side, the fabric belt 6 is folded back forward toward the end plate 4 and wound from top left to bottom right in FIG. 31 on the end plate 4 and then passed through the belt receiver 25B. Then, the fabric belt is folded back forward to the end plate 4 and wound around the lower portion of the end plate 4 from the right to the left. Then, it is passed through the belt receiver 25B on the left side.

After passed through the belt receiver 25B on the left side, the fabric belt 6 is folded back forward toward the end plate 4 and wound up from bottom left to top right on the end plate 4 in FIG. 31 and passed through the belt receiver 25A on the right side. Therefore, the fabric belt 6 is crossed in a X-shape on the end plate 4.

The fabric belt 6 is folded back forward from the belt receiver 25A on the right side and its front end is passed through the buckle 6A on the end plate 4.

The fabric belt 6 is tightened by pulling the front end of the fabric belt 6, so that the end plate 4 and the planographic printing plate bundle 11 are tightly bound to the mounting base 2.

In the packaging arrangement 118 of the embodiment 10, it is permissible to mount the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 obtained by stacking multiple planographic printing plate bundles 11 in the thickness direction in place of a single planographic printing plate bundle 11.

In the packaging arrangement 118 of the embodiment 10, by winding the fabric belts 62, 64 in the passage as shown in FIG. 29, a binding force equivalent to that of four pieces of the fabric belts 6 can be obtained with two fabric belts 6. If the fabric belt 6 is wound in the passage shown in FIG. 30, a tightening force equivalent to that of two fabric belts can be obtained with a single fabric belt 6 and if it is wound in the passage shown in FIG. 31, a tightening force equivalent to that of four fabric belts 6 can be obtained with a single fabric belt 6.

Because the packaging arrangement 118 of the embodiment 10 enables a tightening force equivalent to that of a larger number of the fabric belts 6 to be obtained with a smaller number of the fabric belts 6, the tightening force can be increased without increasing the quantity of the fabric belts 6.

11. Embodiment 11

A packaging arrangement 120 of the embodiment 4 is a such a packaging arrangement in which as shown in FIG. 32, the planographic printing plate bundle 11 is mounted horizontally on a mounting base 70, the end plate 4 is placed thereon and the end plate 4 and the planographic printing plate bundle 11 are tightly bound with the fabric belt 6 on the mounting base 70.

A backing plate 73 is inserted between the fabric belt 6 and the end plate 4 according to the packaging arrangement 120.

The mounting base 70 includes a mounting plate 72 on which the planographic printing plate bundle 11 is mounted horizontally and a pair of leg portions 74 provided on the bottom face of the mounting plate 72.

Belt receivers 75A, 75B are provided on a side edge on the forward side of the mounting plate 72 with respect to this paper in FIG. 32 and belt receives 75C, 75D are provided on the side edge on an opposite side to this paper. The belt receiver 75A is located to the left side of the belt receiver 75B and the belt receiver 75D is located to the right side of the belt receiver 75C. Then, the belt receiver 75C is located on an opposite side to the belt receiver 75B across a central point of the mounting plate 72.

The belt receivers 75A-75D may be grip-shaped member provided on the side edge of the mounting plate 72 as shown in FIG. 36 or a slit provided in parallel to the side edge of the mounting plate 72 as shown in FIG. 37.

The fabric belt 6 is wound around from the central portion of the end plate 4 toward the belt receiver 75B, passed through the belt receiver 75B and folded back to the left side. Then, the fabric belt 6 is passed through the belt receiver 75A and folded back upward.

After folded back upward from the belt receiver 75A, the fabric belt 6 is wound around the left end portions of the planographic printing plate bundle 11 and the end plate 4 toward the left end portion on an opposite side of the mounting plate 72 with respect to this paper just like it makes a single turn. Then, the fabric belt 6 is wound from the side edge on the opposite side with respect to this paper of the mounting plate 72 to the side edge on the forward side such that it passes the bottom face of the mounting plate 72 from the rear left to the front right. Then, the fabric belt is wound around toward the belt receiver 75D on the side edge on the opposite side with respect to this paper of the mounting plate 72 just like it makes a single turn around the right end portions of the planographic printing plate bundle 11 and the end plate 4. The fabric belt 6 is wound around the belt receiver 75D and folded back to the leftward and then wound around the belt receiver 75C. Then, the fabric belt is folded back upward at the belt receiver 75C and its front end portion is passed through the buckle 6A.

If the front end portion of the fabric belt 6 is pulled in this condition, the fabric belt 6 is tightened entirely so that the end plate 4 and the planographic printing plate bundle 11 are tightly bound to the mounting base 70.

In the packaging arrangement 120 of the embodiment 11, the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 obtained by stacking multiple planographic printing plate bundles 11 in the thickness direction may be mounted in place of a single planographic printing plate bundle 11.

The packaging arrangement 120 can ensure a binding force equivalent to three pieces of the fabric belt 6 with a single fabric belt 6.

Thus, the tightening force can be increased without increasing the quantity of the fabric belts 6 because a binding force obtained when it is tightly bound with a larger number of the fabric belts 6 can be obtained with a smaller number of the fabric belts 6.

Because the planographic printing plate bundle 11 is mounted horizontally on the mounting base 70, in case of a platemaker in which the planographic printing plate is to be set horizontally, the planographic printing plate bundle 11 can be set on the platemaker as it is after it is taken out of the packaging arrangement 120.

12. Embodiment 12

A packaging arrangement 122 of the embodiment 12 has the same structure as the embodiment 11 in that as shown in FIG. 33, the planographic printing plate bundle 11 is mounted on the mounting base 70 and the end plate 4 is placed thereon while the end plate 4 and the planographic printing plate bundle 11 are tightly bound to the mounting base 70 with the fabric belt 6. Another same point is that the backing plate 73 is inserted between the fabric belt 6 and the end plate 4.

Different from the packaging arrangement of the embodiment 11, however, belts 75A, 75B, 75E and 75F are provided from the left to the right in FIG. 33 such that they are stretched from a forward side to an opposite side with respect to this paper in FIG. 33 of the mounting plate 72 of the mounting base 70. However, the belt 75A, 75B, 75E, 75F stretched on the side edges of the opposite side are omitted from representation. In the meantime, the belt receivers 75E, 75F are equivalent to the belt receivers 75A, 75B.

Two fabric belts 6 are used as shown in FIG. 33. Of the fabric belts 6, the one located to the left is called fabric belt 62 and the one located to the right is called fabric belt 64.

As shown in FIG. 33, the fabric belt 62 is wound around from the left side of the central portion of the end plate 4 downward to the belt receiver 75B on the side edge on the forward side, folded back leftward at the belt receiver 75B and passed through the belt receiver 75A. Then, the fabric belt 62 is wound around the left end portions of the planographic printing plate bundle 11 and the end plate 4 toward the side edge on the opposite side. The fabric belt 6 is passed through the belt receiver 75A on the side edge of the opposite side, folded back rightward and passed through the belt receiver 75B on the side edge on the opposite side. Then, the fabric belt 62 is folded back upward at the belt receiver 75B and its front end portion is inserted into the buckle 62A.

Likewise, the fabric belt 64 is wound around from the right side of the central portion of the end plate 4 downward to the belt receiver 75E provided on the side edge on the forward side, folded back rightward at the belt receiver 75E and passed through the belt receiver 75F. Then, the fabric belt 64 is wound around the right end portions of the planographic printing plate bundle 11 and the end plate 4 toward the side edge on the opposite side. The fabric belt 6 is passed through the belt receiver 75F on the side edge on the opposite side, folded back leftward and passed through the belt receiver 75E on the side edge on the opposite side. Then, it is folded back upward at the belt receiver 75E and its front end is passed through the buckle 64A.

The packaging arrangement 122 of the embodiment 12 allows the planographic printing plate bundle group 10 obtained by stacking multiple planographic printing plate bundles 11 in the thickness direction to be placed in place of a single planographic printing plate bundle 11.

The packaging arrangement 122 can secure a tightening force equivalent to four pieces of the fabric belts 6 with two pieces of the fabric belts 6.

Therefore, the binding force can be increased without increasing the quantity of the fabric belts 6 because a tightening force equivalent to a binding force obtained with a larger number of the fabric belts 6 can be obtained with a smaller number of the fabric belts 6.

Because the planographic printing plate bundle 11 is mounted horizontally on the mounting base 70, in case of a platemaker in which the planographic printing plate is to be set horizontally, the planographic printing plate bundle 11 can be set on the platemaker as it is after it is taken out of the packaging arrangement 120.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The packaging arrangement and packaging method of the invention can be applied to packaging for a variety of metal sheets, sheets of papers and plastic sheets as well as the planographic printing plates. 

1. A packaging arrangement comprising a sheet bundle in which sheet-like materials are stacked in a thickness direction thereof and bound with a sheet binding part, wherein the sheet bundle is stacked in a thickness direction thereof, mounted on a mounting base and clamped with a clamping part.
 2. A packaging arrangement comprising: a sheet bundle stacked body formed by stacking, in a thickness direction, one or multiple sheet bundle(s) in which sheet-like materials are stacked in a thickness direction thereof and bound with a sheet binding part; a mounting base on which the sheet bundle stacked body is to be mounted; an end plate located on an opposite side of the sheet bundle stacked body from the mounting base; and a restricting part for restricting the sheet bundle stacked body such that the sheet bundle stacked body is sandwiched by the mounting base and the end plate.
 3. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, wherein the sheet bundle is mounted on the mounting base in a substantially vertical direction.
 4. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, wherein protective thick papers for protecting the sheet-like materials are overlaid on both faces in the thickness direction of the sheet bundle.
 5. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, wherein the sheet bundle is bound at its sides with adhesive tape.
 6. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, wherein the sheet bundle is bound on two pairs of opposing faces with a binding member.
 7. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, wherein the sheet bundle is bound on all six faces thereof with a binding member.
 8. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, wherein the sheet-like materials are stacked with inserting papers therebetween in the sheet bundle.
 9. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, wherein the sheet-like materials are stacked without inserting papers in the sheet bundle.
 10. The packaging arrangement of claim 1 wherein the sheet bundle is packaged with light shielding, moisture proof inner-wrapping material.
 11. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, wherein the clamping part is a belt.
 12. The packaging arrangement of claim 2, wherein the restricting part is a belt.
 13. The packaging arrangement of claim 12, wherein the mounting base is provided with a belt receiver through which the belt is to be inserted, and the belt is wound around from the end plate to the mounting base, passed thought the belt receiver and wound around to the end plate.
 14. The packaging arrangement of claim 12, wherein at least one convex portion for catching the belt is provided at the end plate on a face opposite to a face in contact with the sheet bundle stacked body.
 15. The packaging arrangement of claim 14, wherein the convex portion has a belt holding part for holding the belt such that the belt does not slide in a width direction thereof.
 16. The packaging arrangement of claim 13, wherein the convex portion is detachable.
 17. The packaging arrangement of claim 13, wherein the convex portion is structured by a combination of a plurality of blocks.
 18. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, wherein a foamed member is inserted between the sheet bundle and the clamping part.
 19. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, wherein an air bag is inserted between the sheet bundle and the clamping part.
 20. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, further comprising a covering sheet that is a flexible airtight cover for covering the sheet bundle stacked body and the end plate, or the sheet bundle in an airtight condition, wherein a space between the covering sheet and the mounting base is maintained at a lower pressure than the atmospheric pressure.
 21. The packaging arrangement of claim 1, wherein the sheet bundle stacked body is covered with light shielding, moisture proof outer-wrapping material.
 22. A packaging arrangement comprising: sheet-like materials stacked in a thickness direction thereof; a mounting base on which the sheet-like materials are to be mounted; an end plate located on an opposite side of the sheet-like materials from the mounting base; and a belt for tightly binding the end plate and the sheet-like materials to the mounting base, wherein the mounting base is provided with a belt receiver through which the belt is to be inserted, and the belt is wound around from the end plate to the mounting base, passed through the belt receiver and wound around to the end plate.
 23. The packaging arrangement of claim 22, wherein the sheet-like materials are covered with light shielding, moisture proof outer-wrapping material.
 24. The packaging arrangement of claim 2, wherein the sheet bundle, the sheet bundle stacked body or the sheet-like materials are mounted on the mounting base through a shock absorbing material.
 25. The packaging arrangement of claim 2, wherein the sheet-like materials are planographic printing plates.
 26. A packaging method comprising a step of binding sheet-like materials in units of sheet bundles in which the sheet-like materials are stacked in a thickness direction thereof.
 27. The packaging method of claim 26, wherein the sheet-like materials are planographic printing plates.
 28. The packaging arrangement of claim 14, wherein the convex portion is provided in the vicinity of a lower side of the end plate.
 29. The packaging arrangement of claim 2, wherein a foamed member is inserted between the end plate and the restricting part.
 30. The packaging arrangement of claim 2, wherein an air bag is inserted between the end plate and the restricting part. 